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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Gordon Anxious For Richmond Return

Richmond International
Raceway has been the site of two of Jeff Gordon's 87 career NASCAR Sprint Cup
victories.

And one very memorable
runner-up finish.

Last September at the 3/4-mile
track, Gordon entered the final race of NASCAR’s regular season on the outside
of the 12-driver "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup," looking in. He
qualified second, but fell nearly two laps behind the leaders after the halfway
mark of the 400-lap race. Gordon and the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger team
battled back onto the lead lap, though, gradually fighting their way through
the field to claim a runner-up finish that qualified the former series champion
for the Chase.

"That certainly was
memorable; probably my most memorable second-place finish," said Gordon.
"We struggled early, but regrouped during the rain delay and never gave
up, fighting all the way to the checkered flag. That never-give-up attitude is
what I love about this team."

Gordon has faced
adversity this season, as well. A strong performance at Bristol Motor Speedway ended
with a heavily damaged car, while a top-three run in Texas was spoiled by a
left-front hub issue. Despite those poor results, he is still 15th in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings after eight races; a position he did
not attain until after race No. 20 at Indianapolis a year ago.

"We've made some
gains with the Gen-6 car - especially on the intermediate tracks," said
Gordon, who started 43rd at Kansas last weekend and finished 13th. "But
I'm really looking forward to running this Chevy SS on a short track this weekend."

Along with two wins at
the Virginia track, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has 16 Top-5 and
25 Top-10 finishes in 40 starts, with an average starting position of 7.9. He
has also led 1,415 laps, tops among active drivers at Richmond.

Bettering those numbers,
however, will require some guessing.

"When you practice
during the day and race at night, you have to guess," said Gordon. “I feel
like every time we race here, something is changing. I feel like we are
advancing the technology of the cars, gaining more downforce and gaining more
mechanical grip. You are always trying to figure out what combination is going
to work best for the night race.

"We've been very
successful three out of the last four times here, but we also missed it big one
of those times. Our goal is to find that right balance, and make sure we don't
miss it big."